griffin design source: Faux Fir

I love Christmas. I am a huge fan. The day after Thanksgiving I can’t wait to tune into the “easy listening station” which plays Christmas tunes 24 hours a day from the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas.

The songs, cooking for friends, wrapping presents and yes, the holy grail….decorating the Christmas Tree. I moved to Denver, Colorado in 1997. When I moved here, I had no idea how dry it would be and what that meant for, my Christmas tree.

Before I was married I always had a tree. I loved going to buy the tree, the challenge of how I would get it home, up 4 flights of stairs, and into the stand. And then all the watering and dust-busting the dropped needles. Sometimes the trees would even be dead before Christmas, posing a horrendous fire hazard. But nevertheless, I enjoyed the process.

In 2006, my husband ruptured his patella tendon the week before Christmas and I was 7 and a half months pregnant. He was bed-ridden, leaving me to deal with procuring the tree that year. In Colorado it dumped so much snow that I couldn’t even get my car out of the garage to take my large self to a lot to pick out the perfect Fraser Fir and then beg the man to deliver it to me. So I did what any resourceful girl would do. Yep, Frontgate. I broke down, and ordered a pre-lit tree and it was delivered to my house 3 days later. I was sure that I had committed purist suicide, but I had limited choices that year.

Here she is. Don't knock it before you rock it.

I hired two college kids to come over and set it up. Twenty minutes later I plugged her in and voila! My faux Fir was a stunner. She was perfect and did not need any water nor would she drop a single needle on the floor! My then 1-year-old son and I decorated the tree and it was ultimate perfection. I didn’t utter a word to my friends. I just smiled as they commented on how perfect and beautiful my tree was. The secret to my faux-fir….The Thymes Fraser Fir candle, potpourri and scented spray. A shot or 2 every few days keeps the “pine scent” flowing.

The secret ingredient for Faux Fir bliss.

I’m not sure I’ve ever going back to a real tree. I don’t miss the blanket of pine needles covering my floor or dealing with a deceased conifer weeks before Christmas Day. Although I am purist I have fully embraced my love for my Frontgate tree. Seven years later we are still going strong. I hope underneath my faux-fir will someday be a real fur! For now, I’ll settle for my fakie. Here is a link to the Frontgate “look book” for 2013. You won’t be disappointed!

Deck the Halls: Accessorizing Your Fir

I collected Christmas ornaments and held on to them for years. Every year I buy a few ornaments throughout the year, especially when they all go on sale post-Christmas. I pick them up in my travels and hope to be able to hand both my children ornaments when they have their own trees someday. Here are some of my favorites: